Conventional methods of manufacturing fiber-reinforced composite laminates include laying up a stack of composite plies over a forming tool to form a composite layup. Heat and pressure may be applied to the composite layup to consolidate and cure the composite layup into a final composite laminate. For some composite laminates, it is necessary to cure the composite layup inside of an autoclave to provide the relatively high compaction pressures necessary to achieve the desired mechanical properties in the cured composite laminate. For example, high compaction pressure may be necessary to evacuate entrapped moisture, air, and/or volatiles from a composite layup during consolidation and curing such that low porosity and high strength may be achieved in the cured composite laminate.
Traditional autoclave processing of composite laminates may require extended periods of time during which heat and compaction pressure are applied to the composite layup. For example, the consolidation and curing of a composite layup in an autoclave can take up to 24 hours. Unfortunately, autoclaves are generally expensive to construct and operate. In addition, the extended periods of time required to process and cure a composite laminate inside of an autoclave may be prohibitive for large-scale production programs requiring high part-production rates.
As can be seen, there exists a need in the art for a method of curing a composite layup to produce a low-porosity composite laminate without the need for an autoclave.